Tracy Mroz, PhD

WWAMI Rural Health Research Center

Phone: 206.598.5396
Email: tmroz@uw.edu

Department of Rehabilitation Medicine
University of Washington
1959 NE Pacific Street
Box 356490
Seattle, WA 98195


Current Projects - (2)

  • Availability, Care Practices, and Quality of Hospice Providers Serving Rural versus Urban Communities
    This project will examine differences in availability of hospice care in rural versus urban communities as well as provider-level quality and care practices by rural-urban status of hospices. Findings will highlight potential rural-urban disparities in hospice care that can be used to inform future Medicare policy.
    Research center: WWAMI Rural Health Research Center
    Topics: Aging, Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), Health disparities and health equity, Health services, Healthcare access, Hospice and palliative care, Medicare, Quality
  • Comparing Utilization and Quality of Home Health Care Between Medicare Fee-for-Service and Medicare Advantage Beneficiaries by Rural-Urban Status
    This project examines differences in home health use and quality by enrollment in Medicare Fee-for-Service (FFS) versus Medicare Advantage (MA) plans. Findings will include information on rural-urban and intra-rural variation in home health care to inform policies on access, payment, and quality for Medicare FFS and MA plans.
    Research center: WWAMI Rural Health Research Center
    Topics: Aging, Allied health professionals, Health disparities and health equity, Health services, Healthcare access, Healthcare financing, Home health, Medicare, Medicare Advantage (MA), Post-acute care, Quality

Completed Projects - (6)

  • Assessing Potential Unmet Need for Home Healthcare in Rural Areas
    This study estimated potential unmet need for home healthcare in rural areas for fee-for-service Medicare beneficiaries. We compared rates of home healthcare utilization in rural areas with urban areas, accounting for acute hospital discharges and utilization of inpatient rehabilitation facilities and skilled nursing facilities.
    Research center: WWAMI Rural Health Research Center
    Topics: Health services, Home health, Hospitals and clinics, Medicare, Post-acute care
  • Diverging Populations Served by the Medicare Home Health Benefit: Comparison of Post-acute vs. Community-entry Home Health in Rural Areas
    This study examined differences between rural, fee-for-service Medicare beneficiaries who were admitted to home health from the community (community-entry) and those who were admitted to home health following an inpatient stay (post-acute) in terms of their clinical and non-clinical characteristics as well as the communities in which they live.
    Research center: WWAMI Rural Health Research Center
    Topics: Health services, Home health, Medicare, Post-acute care
  • Examining the Potential Impact of Multiple Payment Policies on Rural Versus Urban Home Health Agencies
    This study estimated the impact of three recent and upcoming Medicare home health payment policies (revised rural add-on payments, new prospective payment system, and value-based purchasing demonstration) on reimbursement for home health agencies based on rural-urban status, community factors, and home health agency characteristics.
    Research center: WWAMI Rural Health Research Center
    Topics: Health services, Healthcare access, Healthcare financing, Home health, Medicare, Post-acute care
  • Post-acute Care Quality for Rural Medicare Beneficiaries
    This study examined rural post-acute care quality for rural Medicare beneficiaries and potential disparities in post-acute care between urban and rural providers. Publicly reported quality measures for rural skilled nursing facilities and home health agencies were compared with state and national averages as well as urban providers.
    Research center: WWAMI Rural Health Research Center
    Topics: Home health, Post-acute care
  • Post-acute Care Trajectories for Rural Medicare Beneficiaries
    Utilization and costs of post-acute care for Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries have grown rapidly during the last decade. This study examined post-acute care utilization for rural Medicare beneficiaries following acute hospitalization, describing use of home health and skilled nursing care and trajectories of care across settings.
    Research center: WWAMI Rural Health Research Center
    Topics: Aging, Allied health professionals, Health services, Home health, Hospitals and clinics, Medicare, Nurses and nurse practitioners, Post-acute care
  • Use of Home Health Services Among High Risk Rural Medicare Patients: Patient, Service, and Community Factors Associated with Hospital Readmission
    This study will examine the 60-day post-acute care outcomes of rural Medicare patients who were discharged from hospitals and admitted to home healthcare services. Key predictors include home health services provided, type of Medicare home health reimbursement, and available community healthcare resources.
    Research center: WWAMI Rural Health Research Center
    Topics: Home health, Hospitals and clinics, Medicare, Post-acute care

Publications - (8)

2024

2022

  • Quality of Home Health Agencies Serving Rural Medicare Beneficiaries
    Policy Brief
    WWAMI Rural Health Research Center
    Date: 02/2022
    This policy brief describes the quality of home health agencies (HHAs) by rural-serving status. While quality of patient care star ratings were not associated with rural-serving status, rural HHAs and urban HHAs that serve rural patients had higher patient experience star ratings than urban HHAs that do not serve rural patients.
  • Quality of Skilled Nursing Facilities Serving Rural Medicare Beneficiaries
    Policy Brief
    WWAMI Rural Health Research Center
    Date: 02/2022
    This policy brief describes the quality of skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) by rural-serving status. While overall star ratings and staffing star ratings were not associated with rural-serving status, rural SNFs and urban SNFs that serve rural patients had lower quality star ratings compared to urban SNFs that do not serve rural patients.

2021

2020

2019

2018